How could Liar accurately predict a pop quiz, but be wrong about the date of nuclear war?
One thing that nearly all false prophets do at some point is try to predict is the end of the world, and I was no exception. The first prophecy that Liar had me publicly reveal was the date of the nuclear exchange that would start the events that would lead up to the end of the world: April 21st, 1994. It was only after making that grand, shocking proclamation that Liar had me start predicting events like pop quizzes and other minor events that would happen in the very near future.
Why he did that was is simple: many people, even as children, are searching in all the wrong places for answers to spiritual questions. Our flesh was created by God to have fellowship with God. However, our flesh is inherently sinful. We inherited our sinful nature from our ancestors. Sin separates us from God and our flesh is keenly aware that there is something missing from our lives, no matter how much we try to deny it. Even children inherently know this. There is a craving for that void to be filled and yet, most people will look anywhere but to Jesus to find it. That’s because our flesh seeks out fleshly answers to spiritual questions.
Demons know this extremely well. They give answers that make sense to the flesh, including fortune telling and making false prophecies. One of the biggest spiritual questions is: will this world go on as it had for eons untold, or will it come to an end? If it is coming to an end, when will it happen?
Scientists say the world will come to an end billions of years from now when the Sun runs out of nuclear fuel and expands into a red giant, destroying the inner solar system (including Earth) in the process. And yet, many people know in their heart that the answer to that question doesn’t come from science, even if they don’t understand why or how they know this. They know that end of the world has a spiritual cause, not a physical one, and it’ll come far, far sooner than the death of the Sun. That’s why false prophets, and the demons they work with, offer so many prophecies about the end of the world. People want to hear them, and the demons are all too happy to provide answers, howbeit false ones. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
So why are prophecies about the end of the world given by demons and false prophets always false? Wouldn’t a creature that could see the future know about something as world-changing as nuclear war if he could foresee something as trivial as a pop quiz?
While the Bible doesn’t say outright whether or not demons can have some insight into the future, we can infer from 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 that the Devil, who definitely was one of the “rulers of this age” (John 14:30), didn’t know that Jesus would be resurrected. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had Jesus crucified! That also lines up with what I experienced. Liar wouldn’t have had be try to make fun of Christians if he knew that doing so would lead me to ultimately accept Christ.
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written:
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the human heart,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 (emphasis added)
That’s why I don’t believe they know the future any more than you or I do. Demons are expert observers of human behavior, and they’re not restrained by walls or locked doors. That means demons can get some information that no human can. That type of information would let them know when a teacher was planning on springing a pop quiz on a class at the end of the week. Also, demons can manipulate people who don’t know the Lord. That’s how I think Liar arranged it so that his prophecy of me applying to twenty colleges and only being accepted by the two he predicted would come true. I was rejected from colleges I should have been able to get into far more easily than the two I was accepted by. Sure enough, those were the very two he named beforehand! That was proof enough in my mind, at the time, that Liar knew what the future held, and that he was a trustworthy guide.
So, if demons can do that, why can’t they know what major geopolitical events would take place years from now? Demons may be able to discover through supernatural means some things no human can, and they can manipulate some people, but that’s a far cry from knowing the dates of major events years in the future. This is especially true for predictions about the end of the world! Jesus Himself said that no one, not any prophet, angel or demon, not even Himself, knew that date, but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36-39) So if someone is predicting the end of the world, you can be 100% sure they’re a liar and a false prophet, no matter which date they proclaim. If they’re a false prophet, then you can be sure everything else they teach is a lie, too. Do not follow the teachings of such a person or spirit! (Matthew 24:4-27)
But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not [ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
False prophets, like demons, seek to manipulate and deceive those who are seeking spiritual answers. Charlatans do this for personal gain; demons do it to lead seekers away from Christ. Either way, Once an intended victim believes that a supposed prophet is getting answers from the spiritual realm, they’re easy to manipulate and take advantage of. This is just as true for human charlatan who’s looking for unconscious tells from someone as it is for demons. The big difference is that demons really are supernatural beings, so the deception is far more convincing!
Just because answers are coming from a supernatural source doesn’t mean they’re truthful or good. Demons are liars (John 8:44) and they seek to devour and destroy. (1 Peter 5:8) Even if an answer really is coming from the spirit world, we are to test the spirits. It doesn’t matter if what they preach is spiritual, because that doesn’t really tell us anything. What matters is if it’s in agreement with the Word of God (1 John 4:1-3) for only the Word of God is the ultimate authority about whether a spiritual teaching is true if it’s a lie. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)